Publisher's Summary

Acclaimed novelist of The Kind One and screenwriter of such films as One False Move and The Gift, Tom Epperson brings the violence-soaked world of Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men and the heroism of Jack Schaefer’s Shane together to create an iconic action thriller for the 21st century.

Gina fell for the wrong guy. Joe came into her life promising her everything, and he gave it to her, along with a world of hell. But Gina was stronger than Joe realized. After years of suffering the terror of being married to a criminal, she took the one thing he ever gave her that she wanted: her son, Luke. Then she turned the bastard in.

With her husband behind bars, her father-in-law will stop at nothing for revenge. He wants his grandson back, the heir to his criminal empire. With a vast network that stretches across the country, every favor is called in to kill Gina and return Luke to his grandfather.

Gina can trust no one. Even the US marshal assigned to keep her and Luke safe is on the payroll. So with a gun and stolen diamonds in her purse—and derelicts, the law, and hit men on her tail—Gina takes Luke and runs.

Los Angeles was only supposed to be a quick stop—sleep, eat, and continue running—but then they meet Gray. He says he’s a sailor, but he seems to be hiding a lot. And when the time comes, he’s the only thing standing between her and the grave.

Tom Epperson is the cowriter, with Billy Bob Thornton, of A Family Thing (starring Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones; nominated for the Humanitas Prize), One False Move (named as one of the year’s best films by a number of top critics), and The Gift (directed by Sam Raimi and starring Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, and Hillary Swank). Epperson’s first book, The Kind One, was nominated for an Edgar and a Barry Award in 2009. He lives in Los Angeles.

What the Critics Say

“Simply a great thriller—full of action but about people, tough but not bleak, fast and yet thoughtful. Highly recommended.” (Lee Child)

“Sailor is a modern-day fable, compelling and heartbreaking. It will grab you from page one and keep you a grateful hostage until its surprising and moving conclusion.” (Robert Crais, New York Times best-selling author)

“Sailor is the literary equivalent of a Coen brothers film.” (Eric Van Lustbader, New York Times best-selling author)

Characters - NONE of the characters was likable, except possibly the sailor. Even the mother was disgusting, flinging the "f" word around constantly in front of her little boy and she was always drinking. Great role model. We the reader had the creepy pleasure of sharing a masturbation experience with almost every male character at least once. This author seems obsessed with sex and his own man parts. I've read a lot of thrillers, dirty gritty ones, but this was just dumb. Sorry. Every character was SO over the top cliche, it seemed like they were taken straight out of a characterization class for beginners. And there were way too many of them. This guy/girl/kid had about twelve people chasing after them. After a while they all ran together and I stopped trying to tell the assassins apart, since they were all so similar anyway. Brutal bad asses who kick kittens, yeah, we get it.

Story - There were so many flaws, I don't know where to begin. Every cop was an idiot and only the bad guys had any brains until they meet the hero, of course. And the one scene where the reader is TORTURED into sharing the dreams of every character in the story. Really? Who cares? By the end of the book I was hoping the bad guys would kill the very unlikable female main character. And again I repeat, the author must be obsessed by sex, but do we really have to know that all these guys are jerking off? Yes we know it happens, did you really have to make us share? These were like cheap shock shots, only they weren't shocking, just vulgar. If I wan porn I'll read romance - at least I'd get a little titillation with it.

I'm going to stop now, only because I've wasted too much time on this book already.

Would you ever listen to anything by Tom Epperson again?

Never

What aspect of Donald Corren???s performance would you have changed?

He made the child very whiny, even in places where it didn't seem to fit the scene.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment. Terrible book. If I hadn't paid only five dollars for the audio-book, I would have been really upset.